A Birthday Gift to Norway
by Mellookie
Summary: Every day started the same. Mathias would wake to breakfast cooking, the smell of browning sausage, maple syrup, and freshly brewed coffee slipping through the gap under his bedroom door and through the covers he'd been using to block the early rays of the sun with. It coaxed him into pulling those heavy blankets from his head and to open his bleary blue eyes to the morning.


Every day started the same. Mathias would wake to breakfast cooking, the smell of browning sausage, maple syrup, and freshly brewed coffee slipping through the gap under his bedroom door and through the covers he'd been using to block the early rays of the sun with. It coaxed him into pulling those heavy blankets from his head and to open his bleary blue eyes to the morning. Large gulps of the rich-smelling air would be taken in through his nose, chest rising and falling lazily as he worked up enough ambition to move. The light on this morning was particularly blinding, which made even more tempting, his wish to crawl back under the duvet and wait to be forcibly removed from his mess of a bed. A groan of reluctance passed through chapped lips, calloused fingers rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the sheets were kicked off of his person haphazardly, pulling the slip cover off of the mattress halfway in the process. Worn knees cracked as he made to stand, a hand running through his unkempt hair.

A glance was thrown at the analogue clock set on the nightstand, its red numbers scrolling through the time, date, and weather. May the seventeenth, was it? Azure eyes widened slightly upon realizing he'd forgotten something the night before. Luckily for him Lukas had to leave for work in an hour and wouldn't be back until late. That would give him just enough time to pull something together for his special someone. With this in mind, the blonde made for the bedroom door, stepping outside with a large, sated sigh. The smell was even more intense than before, the popping and hissing of the food cooking drifting to his ears with a pleasant familiarity, along with the strained sounds from his old coffee pot finishing its job. Dishes clattered downstairs, the silverware cupboard being opened loudly ringing in his head as he made his way down the stairs in his socks, careful not to slip on the hardwood.

With a cheerful hum, Mathias swept his way into the kitchen, immediately alerting his loftmate of his presence. The shorter man shot him a mildly displeased look, placing the last of the the Brown n' Serve on the plates. A chuckle bubbled past the Dane's upturned lips as he reached down to catch the early bird under the chin with his thumb, forcing him to return his indago gaze to the rumpled mess behind him. Mathias ducked down to steal a chaste kiss, a murmur of "happy birthday" accompanying the gentle caress of lips. Soon after, a plate was pressed into his free hand and he was sent off to the dining room, Lukas' familiar teasing tone echoing after him.

They ate with light conversation, well, that is to say, Mathias talked while his lover listened. Boisterous laughs rung through the small dining area whenever the blonde managed to amuse himself, or whenever he managed to pull a smile from the pale beauty across from him. When breakfast was finished, Mathias gathered the dishes and set them in the sink to be washed. This would be done after Lukas left, just so the Dane could say he did something productive on his day off. When the cheerful man re-entered the dining room, he found his dearest collecting the papers he needed for the meeting he was attending that day.

"What case do ya have today?" The snarky blonde questioned, an eyebrow quirked in question.

"A recently split couple is fighting for legal custody," Lukas replied, thumbing through his documents once more to ensure he had all of them. "I'm arguing on the father's behalf."

Mathias nodded in understanding, leaning against the table. "Tough luck, hm?"

"I think not," the indigo eyed man retorted cooly. "I don't lose."

A guilty grin stretched over the Dane's thin lips, hands raised in surrender. "Hey, everyone screws up. That's how we met, right?"

The Norwegian's cheeks flushed at the mention of their first meeting, eyes narrowing viciously. "I let you win; it was the right thing to do."

A snort. "Sure you did. You've fought and won for criminals before Luke, so don't pull that on me."

"At least I seem like a reliable source of information."

"Hey, people love me!"

A scoff was given in reply.

"..._You_ love me~" Mathias pressed, grin turning towards smirk as Lukas' head whipped around so that he could properly glare at him.

The papers in the pale Norwegian's hands were stuffed into his briefcase without care, said man elbowing the obnoxious blonde as he passed by. This, however, only seemed to encourage said man's behaviour, as he followed his love to the front door. A predatory smirk etched itself into his features, his left hand catching Lukas by the shoulder, spinning him around.

"Leaving without a kiss goodbye?" he asked cheekily, leaning down expectantly. With a roll of his eyes, the watery blonde leant up to press a chaste kiss to the taller man's lips.

"Try not to get yourself killed," the shorter of the two murmured, pulling away.

"I love you too!" Mathias called after his lover's retreating form, chuckling to himself as he shut the door.

A happy sigh left him as he strode back into the kitchen to do the dishes. Certainly Lukas' present had to be perfect, after spending five years with a guy like him. The rusted plug was placed into the sink drain, the tap then turned on to spill hot water onto the previously used dishes. Orange scented dish soap was added to the steaming water in copious amounts, so much so that the bubbles reached the rim of the chrome fixture. The water was then turned off to avoid spillage, the Dane dunking a sponge under the sudsy surface. One by one the dishes were washed and put on the rack to the left of him to dry, before they were put away.

Eventually Mathias finished his chore of the day, a grin of satisfaction brightening the dim light of the kitchen. With that he set out to take a shower, just a quick one. The hot water eased the tension in his shoulders and lessened the ache in his knees and the heels of his feet. The blonde deftly worked shampoo into his greasy locks, playing around with the suds in order to make it stand on end. With a bark of a laugh, the silliness ceased and the white foam was washed down the shower drain.

Quickly, the blonde toweled off, squeezing the water out of the tips of his hair to prevent drippage. The aforementioned locks proceeded to fall over his face, pulling a snort from covered lips, a hand brushing the follicles back behind his ears. The damp towel was tossed behind his person without a care, the Dane's attention turning to the bathroom vanity. Well, it was more of a sink and mirror combination, but whatever. Teeth were brushed, hair was blown dry, and contacts were put in within the hour it had been since Lukas left. A rumpled shirt was thrown on, fingers lazily fastening the buttons down the front. A pair of dark wash jeans were also tugged on, zipped, and buttoned in record time, before the man left the vicinity of the washroom.

On his way back downstairs, Mathias snagged a new pair of socks to replace those discarded before his shower. Sitting on the bottom step of the staircase, his pulled the socks over his feet, folding the tops down so they wouldn't look quite so ridiculous. A dusty pair of sneakers were taken off of the shoe-rack next to the stair banner, brushed off, untied, and slipped over those gloriously socked feet of his, the laces tied once more in a cheater's knot. There was no need for proper tying on his day off, after all.

Breezing through the living room, a cellphone was plucked from its charger, a number dialed, and the cool surface placed to it's owner's ear. Mathias hummed as he waited for the call to be picked up, sitting on the arm of the couch with a lazy smile. Said couch groaned in protest, much to the despair of the Dane. Surely one huge breakfast wouldn't ruin his body?

Before he could worry, however, the call was answered, a dull voice greeting him.

"Hey, reservation for two, please? For tonight. -Yes, I know it's on short notice!"

The turning of guestbook pages, angrily at that, could be heard even through the speaker of his tiny phone.

"Yes, that would be fine. Thank you."

And so the call was ended with a six o'clock reservation to one of Lukas' favourite restaurants. It was likely that he had only gotten the table because they'd been so many birthdays before. The restaurant was certainly a splendor in itself, rather expensive to boot. It was really no wonder that his lover fancied it.

Pleased with himself, Mathias snapped his phone shut, shoving it into his pocket, along with his wallet. Keys were sought out next and found on the kitchen counter where he'd left them the night before after work. They were twirled around the blonde's index finger happily as he made his way to the front door, stealing one last glance about the space, before leaving.

Finding a suitable present was far harder than negotiating for a reservation. Everything Mathias had found thus far wasn't nearly special enough for the man he planned to spend his life with. After a good three hours of searching, he finally and begrudgingly settled on a small trinket. It wasn't much, but if he played his cards right, it would mean the world. The thought made him nauseous.

On his way back to the car, a small arrangement of flowers and a bottle of Lukas' favourite liquor were also purchased for the sake of the celebration.

The drive home was rather taxing on his nerves, to the point of sweaty palms and nervous shakes. Surely he would be scorned for such an idea, scorned and then left. However, Mathias could not bring himself to return the trinket or the liquor, it was far too risky to go with just flowers. Far riskier than presenting Lukas with the piece.

He had only three hours before the Norwegian's expected return home, and it was the longest bout of waiting he'd endured, next to that of Christmas morning. He was quite jittery by now, tapping his fingers restlessly against everything, eyes stealing glances at the wall clock with hopes that it would magically make the amethyst eyed man appear.

When the door finally clicked open with a whine, it scared the life out of Mathias, his face paling briefly, before a large grin spread across his lips. The enthusiastic Dane went to greet his love as usual, kissing his cheek first, then his forehead, and finally his lips. When they finally parted, another kiss was pressed to Lukas' nose, a strong hand taking his briefcase and setting it aside. They had an hour before the reservation and the restaurant was only a block or two away.

"I see you managed not to get yourself killed," the shorter of the two murmured, nose buried in the Dane's shoulder, minding the hands around his waist.

A chuckle was spared, head tilted to rest his cheek against the pale blonde's hair. "Have a good day at work?"

A nod was pressed into his shoulder in reply and Mathias couldn't help but squeeze him a little tighter. After a good moment of silence, they separated. It wasn't unpleasant silence, no, not in the least. It was the warm sort of silence, where the only, nearly inaudible, noises presenting themselves were their own breaths and the ceiling fan whirring to life on the floor above.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Lukas commented, brushing past him and into the living room to relax. Mathias gave an uneasy grin, shoving his hands into his pockets to mess with the present.

"Sorry, figured you'd want quiet today," he lied, sinking down onto the sofa with a gestured for the Norwegian to join him.

The aforementioned man kicked off his shoes, humming in relief as he curled up into Mathias' side on the couch. That was another thing about Lukas he loved, despite anything you'd might think, he liked to cuddle. More specifically, he liked to curl up on the couch; it was just an added bonus if the Dane was there to wrap his arms around him and provide warmth. A sigh left the smaller of the two, his head falling back to rest on his heater's shoulder.

"Mh, did you?" A small smile laced over the Norwegian's lips. "Or did you forget about today?"

"I'm wounded Luke; _forget_?" Mathias brought a hand up to press to his heart. "I'm just a little jittery, is all."

Lukas snorted. "Jittery? You're such a little kid."

And the Dane laughed, because any other time the accusation would have been true. "Am I? Would a little kid have made you a reservation at a certain restaurant?"

Amethyst eyes glittered at the hinted location, letting out a contented breath. "Oh, is that so?"

Mathias hummed as a yes, leaning down to cover the Norwegian's lips with his own again. He felt the man's lips twitch upward under his own, as wiry fingers threaded into his hair from behind. The angle was awkward, but Lukas didn't seem bothered, so it was fine. Palms slid forward from messy blonde hair then, to rest on his cheeks, fingers pinching the skin there as the Norwegian pulled away with a small leer.

"You're insufferable, you know that?" Lukas commented, pulling his hands away from the irritated skin of the Dane's cheeks.

Mathias let a pout take to his lips, rubbing at the sore skin."Mh, only for you, _min kærlighed_."

He watched in amusement as the words raised a pink shade to his smaller lover's face. He opened his mouth then, most likely to tell him off for calling him that, but Mathias lent down to peck him on the lips again and the words were stolen away.

"We should get going," he murmured against the Norwegian's lips, kissing him once more before pulling away entirely. Lukas groaned reluctantly, staying for a few more moments on the sofa like that, before he finally got up to change. He couldn't exactly wear a work suit to dinner, after all.


End file.
